1997–98 Edmonton Oilers season

1997–98 Edmonton Oilers
Division	3rd Pacific
Conference	7th Western
1997–98 record	35–37–10
Home record	20–16–5
Road record	15–21–5
Goals for	215 (15th)
Goals against	224 (16th)
Team information
General manager	Glen Sather
Coach	Ron Low
Captain	Kelly Buchberger
Alternate captains	Boris Mironov Doug Weight
Arena	Edmonton Coliseum
Average attendance	16,245 (95.0%)
Team leaders
Goals	Doug Weight (26)
Assists	Doug Weight (44)
Points	Doug Weight (70)
Penalty minutes	Drake Berehowsky (169)
Plus/minus	Todd Marchant (+9) Dean McAmmond (+9)
Wins	Curtis Joseph (29)
Goals against average	Curtis Joseph (2.63)

The 1997–98 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 19th season in the NHL, and they were coming off a 36–37–9 record in 1996–97, earning their first playoff spot in 5 seasons. The Oilers then defeated the heavily favoured Dallas Stars before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the 2nd round.

Edmonton started off the season pretty slow, and on January 4, when they had a record of 11–22–9, the Oilers would trade Jason Arnott and Bryan Muir to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Bill Guerin and Valeri Zelepukin. The trade seemed to spark Edmonton, as they would finish the year 24–15–1, making the playoffs for the 2nd straight season, as they would finish in 7th place in the Western Conference.

Offensively, Doug Weight had another very solid season, leading the Oilers in goals (26), assists (44) and points (70). Ryan Smyth would be the only other player to score 20 goals for the team. Dean McAmmond had a break out season, finishing 2nd to Weight with 50 points and 3rd on the team with 19 goals. Bill Guerin had a solid half season in Edmonton, scoring 13 goals and 29 points in 40 games. Boris Mironov would lead the defense with 16 goals and 46 points, while Drake Berehowsky would lead the team with 169 penalty minutes.

In goal, Curtis Joseph would get the majority of playing time, winning 29 games, posting a GAA of 2.63 and setting the club record with shutouts in a season at 8. Bob Essensa would back him up once again, and do a very good job, having a GAA of 2.55 and winning 6 games for the team.

The Oilers would open the playoffs against the Pacific Division winning Colorado Avalanche, who eliminated Edmonton from the playoffs the previous spring, and finished with 15 more points during the regular season. The Oilers would surprise the Avalanche in the opening game, winning 3–2, but Colorado would storm back, and win 3 in a row, to go up 3–1 in the series. Then the Curtis Joseph show began, as he would hold off the Avalanche in game 5, as Edmonton won 3–1 in Denver to keep their season alive. Edmonton would return home for the 6th game, and easily shutout Colorado 4–0, forcing a 7th game. Curtis Joseph would earn his 2nd straight shutout in the 7th and deciding game, as Edmonton would win the game 2–0, and win the series, eliminating the heavily favoured Avalanche.

In the 2nd round, Edmonton would play against the Dallas Stars, who the Oilers defeated the previous year in the opening round. The Stars finished with an NHL best 109 points in the regular season. The Stars would beat Edmonton in the first game, but Curtis Joseph would shutout Dallas in game 2, evening the series as it returned to Edmonton for the next 2 games. The 3rd game would be scoreless in regulation time, however, the Stars would score in the 1st overtime to take a 2–1 series lead. The Oilers offense then went dry, as they would score only 2 goals in the next 2 games, losing them both, and the series 4 games to 1.

Season standings

Pacific Division

#	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Colorado Avalanche	82	39	26	17	231	205	95
2	5	Los Angeles Kings	82	38	33	11	227	225	87
3	7	Edmonton Oilers	82	35	37	10	215	224	80
4	8	San Jose Sharks	82	34	38	10	210	216	78
5	10	Calgary Flames	82	26	41	15	217	252	67
6	12	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	82	26	43	13	205	261	65
7	13	Vancouver Canucks	82	25	43	14	224	273	64

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Game log

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 1	Edmonton Oilers	5–3	San Jose Sharks	1–0–0	2
2	October 3	Detroit Red Wings	8–2	Edmonton Oilers	1–1–0	2
3	October 5	Colorado Avalanche	3–0	Edmonton Oilers	1–2–0	2
4	October 8	New York Rangers	3–3	Edmonton Oilers	1–2–1	3
5	October 11	Toronto Maple Leafs	1–2	Edmonton Oilers	2–2–1	5
6	October 13	Edmonton Oilers	0–3	Vancouver Canucks	2–3–1	5
7	October 15	Colorado Avalanche	6–2	Edmonton Oilers	2–4–1	5
8	October 17	Edmonton Oilers	1–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	2–5–1	5
9	October 19	Edmonton Oilers	3–2	Los Angeles Kings	3–5–1	7
10	October 21	Boston Bruins	2–1	Edmonton Oilers	3–6–1	7
11	October 24	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	4–6–1	9
12	October 29	Phoenix Coyotes	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	5–6–1	11
13	November 1	Edmonton Oilers	1–3	Boston Bruins	5–7–1	11
14	November 3	Edmonton Oilers	2–2	New York Rangers	5–7–2	12
15	November 5	Edmonton Oilers	4–4	New York Islanders	5–7–3	13
16	November 6	Edmonton Oilers	2–6	Philadelphia Flyers	5–8–3	13
17	November 8	Edmonton Oilers	1–2	Washington Capitals	5–9–3	13
18	November 10	Edmonton Oilers	4–4	Buffalo Sabres	5–9–4	14
19	November 12	Carolina Hurricanes	6–4	Edmonton Oilers	5–10–4	14
20	November 15	Calgary Flames	2–2	Edmonton Oilers	5–10–5	15
21	November 17	Edmonton Oilers	3–6	Phoenix Coyotes	5–11–5	15
22	November 19	Edmonton Oilers	2–3	Dallas Stars	5–12–5	15
23	November 20	Edmonton Oilers	3–0	St. Louis Blues	6–12–5	17
24	November 22	Edmonton Oilers	1–0	Ottawa Senators	7–12–5	19
25	November 25	Chicago Blackhawks	2–2	Edmonton Oilers	7–12–6	20
26	November 28	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	3–1	Edmonton Oilers	7–13–6	20
27	November 30	San Jose Sharks	1–6	Edmonton Oilers	8–13–6	22
28	December 2	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Colorado Avalanche	8–14–6	22
29	December 3	Edmonton Oilers	1–4	Dallas Stars	8–15–6	22
30	December 5	Detroit Red Wings	1–3	Edmonton Oilers	9–15–6	24
31	December 7	Edmonton Oilers	3–3	Chicago Blackhawks	9–15–7	25
32	December 10	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	New Jersey Devils	9–16–7	25
33	December 12	Edmonton Oilers	3–2	Detroit Red Wings	10–16–7	27
34	December 13	Edmonton Oilers	4–1	St. Louis Blues	11–16–7	29
35	December 17	Chicago Blackhawks	0–0	Edmonton Oilers	11–16–8	30
36	December 20	Dallas Stars	2–1	Edmonton Oilers	11–17–8	30
37	December 22	Edmonton Oilers	3–3	Montreal Canadiens	11–17–9	31
38	December 23	Edmonton Oilers	4–5	Toronto Maple Leafs	11–18–9	31
39	December 27	Colorado Avalanche	5–1	Edmonton Oilers	11–19–9	31
40	December 30	Philadelphia Flyers	3–1	Edmonton Oilers	11–20–9	31
41	January 2	Montreal Canadiens	5–3	Edmonton Oilers	11–21–9	31
42	January 4	Los Angeles Kings	3–2	Edmonton Oilers	11–22–9	31
43	January 7	Florida Panthers	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	12–22–9	33
44	January 9	Edmonton Oilers	5–1	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	13–22–9	35
45	January 10	Edmonton Oilers	4–3	Los Angeles Kings	14–22–9	37
46	January 12	St. Louis Blues	1–2	Edmonton Oilers	15–22–9	39
47	January 14	Calgary Flames	2–5	Edmonton Oilers	16–22–9	41
48	January 20	Phoenix Coyotes	2–6	Edmonton Oilers	17–22–9	43
49	January 23	Edmonton Oilers	2–3	San Jose Sharks	17–23–9	43
50	January 24	Edmonton Oilers	5–2	Phoenix Coyotes	18–23–9	45
51	January 26	Edmonton Oilers	1–2	Colorado Avalanche	18–24–9	45
52	January 28	New Jersey Devils	1–1	Edmonton Oilers	18–24–10	46
53	January 31	Vancouver Canucks	6–3	Edmonton Oilers	18–25–10	46
54	February 2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	0–1	Edmonton Oilers	19–25–10	48
55	February 4	San Jose Sharks	3–0	Edmonton Oilers	19–26–10	48
56	February 6	Edmonton Oilers	4–5	Vancouver Canucks	19–27–10	48
57	February 7	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Calgary Flames	19–28–10	48
58	February 25	Ottawa Senators	2–5	Edmonton Oilers	20–28–10	50
59	February 27	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	4–0	Edmonton Oilers	20–29–10	50
60	February 28	San Jose Sharks	1–4	Edmonton Oilers	21–29–10	52
61	March 2	Edmonton Oilers	5–4	Colorado Avalanche	22–29–10	54
62	March 4	Tampa Bay Lightning	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	23–29–10	56
63	March 7	Edmonton Oilers	1–4	Toronto Maple Leafs	23–30–10	56
64	March 9	Edmonton Oilers	4–3	Chicago Blackhawks	24–30–10	58
65	March 11	Edmonton Oilers	2–0	Tampa Bay Lightning	25–30–10	60
66	March 13	Edmonton Oilers	4–0	Florida Panthers	26–30–10	62
67	March 15	Edmonton Oilers	1–4	Carolina Hurricanes	26–31–10	62
68	March 17	Edmonton Oilers	3–4	Detroit Red Wings	26–32–10	62
69	March 18	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Pittsburgh Penguins	26–33–10	62
70	March 21	St. Louis Blues	0–2	Edmonton Oilers	27–33–10	64
71	March 22	New York Islanders	3–1	Edmonton Oilers	27–34–10	64
72	[March 25	Washington Capitals	2–4	Edmonton Oilers	28–34–10	66
73	March 27	Buffalo Sabres	1–0	Edmonton Oilers	28–35–10	66
74	March 30	Calgary Flames	1–3	Edmonton Oilers	29–35–10	68
75	April 1	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Vancouver Canucks	29–36–10	68
76	April 3	Dallas Stars	1–4	Edmonton Oilers	30–36–10	70
77	April 6	Vancouver Canucks	2–3	Edmonton Oilers	31–36–10	72
78	April 8	Edmonton Oilers	2–4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	31–37–10	72
79	April 9	Edmonton Oilers	4–0	Los Angeles Kings	32–37–10	74
80	April 11	Edmonton Oilers	5–4	Calgary Flames	33–37–10	76
81	April 15	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	3–5	Edmonton Oilers	34–37–10	78
82	April 18	Toronto Maple Leafs	3–4	Edmonton Oilers	35–37–10	80

Playoffs

Edmonton Oilers 4, Colorado Avalanche 3

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	April 22	Edmonton Oilers	3–2	Colorado Avalanche	1–0
2	April 24	Edmonton Oilers	2–5	Colorado Avalanche	1–1
3	April 26	Colorado Avalanche	5–4	Edmonton Oilers	1–2
4	April 28	Colorado Avalanche	3–1	Edmonton Oilers	1–3
5	April 30	Edmonton Oilers	3–1	Colorado Avalanche	2–3
6	May 2	Colorado Avalanche	0–2	Edmonton Oilers	3–3
7	May 4	Edmonton Oilers	4–0	Colorado Avalanche	4–3

Dallas Stars 4, Edmonton Oilers 1

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	May 7	Edmonton Oilers	1–3	Dallas Stars	0–1
2	May 9	Edmonton Oilers	2–0	Dallas Stars	1–1
3	May 11	Dallas Stars	1–0	Edmonton Oilers	1–2
4	May 13	Dallas Stars	3–1	Edmonton Oilers	1–3
5	May 16	Edmonton Oilers	1–2	Dallas Stars	1–4

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Doug Weight	79	26	44	70	69
Dean McAmmond	77	19	31	50	46
Boris Mironov	81	16	30	46	100
Todd Marchant	76	14	21	35	71
Ryan Smyth	65	20	13	33	44

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	Save %	GAA
Bob Essensa	16	825	6	6	1	35	0	.913	2.53
Curtis Joseph	71	4132	29	31	9	181	8	.905	2.63

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Doug Weight	12	2	7	9	14
Bill Guerin	12	7	1	8	17
Boris Mironov	12	3	3	6	27
Roman Hamrlik	12	0	6	6	12
Rem Murray	11	1	4	5	2

Goaltending

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	Save %	GAA
Curtis Joseph	12	716	5	7	23	3	.928	1.93
Bob Essensa	1	27	0	0	1	0	.909	2.22

Transactions

Trades

June 18, 1997	To Philadelphia Flyers Matt Cerven	To Edmonton Oilers 7th round pick in 1997 - Chad Hinz
July 16, 1997	To Tampa Bay Lightning Vladimir Vujtek 3rd round pick in 1998 - Dmitry Afanasenkov	To Edmonton Oilers Brantt Myhres 3rd round pick in 1998 - Alex Henry
August 12, 1997	To Pittsburgh Penguins Jiri Slegr	To Edmonton Oilers *3rd round pick in 1998 - Brian Gionta
August 25, 1997	To New York Islanders Mariusz Czerkawski	To Edmonton Oilers Dan LaCouture
October 15, 1997	To Philadelphia Flyers Brantt Myhres	To Edmonton Oilers Jason Bowen
December 30, 1997	To Tampa Bay Lightning Bryan Marchment Steve Kelly Jason Bonsignore	To Edmonton Oilers Roman Hamrlik Paul Comrie
January 4, 1998	To New Jersey Devils Jason Arnott Bryan Muir	To Edmonton Oilers Bill Guerin Valeri Zelepukin
January 9, 1998	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Drew Bannister	To Edmonton Oilers Bobby Dollas
March 9, 1998	To Ottawa Senators Scott Ferguson	To Edmonton Oilers Frank Musil
March 24, 1998	To Philadelphia Flyers Dan McGillis 2nd round pick in 1998 - Jason Beckett	To Edmonton Oilers Janne Niinimaa

*Later traded to the New Jersey Devils

Free agents

Player Former team F Doug Friedman Colorado Avalanche F Bill Huard Dallas Stars F Scott Fraser Calgary Flames G Jean-Francois Labbe Colorado Avalanche D Drake Berehowsky Pittsburgh Penguins F Ray Whitney San Jose Sharks

Player New team D Luke Richardson Philadelphia Flyers F Louie DeBrusk Tampa Bay Lightning

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	14	Michel Riesen	Switzerland	Biel (Switzerland)
2	41	Patrick Dovigi	Canada	Erie Otters (OHL)
3	68	Sergei Yerkovich	Belarus	Las Vegas Thunder (IHL)
4	94	Jonas Elofsson	Sweden	Farjestads BK Karlstad (SEL)
5	121	Jason Chimera	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
6	141	Peter Sarno	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
7	176	Kevin Bolibruck	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
7	187	Chad Hinz	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
8	205	Chris Kerr	Canada	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
9	231	Alexander Fomitchev	Russia	St. Albert Saints (AJHL)

References

• SHRP Sports
• The Internet Hockey Database
• National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007